quotations about basketball
There is nothing better than being out there when the game is on the line.
LARRY BIRD
The Sacramento Bee, February 3, 1998
You have to be able to center yourself, to let all of your emotions go. Don't ever forget that you play with your soul as well as your body.
KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR
attributed, You Vs You: Sports Psychology for Life
More games are lost by dumb than are won by smart.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
Failure is good. It's fertilizer. Everything I've learned about coaching, I've learned from making mistakes.
RICK PITINO
attributed, Teamthink
The goal is to make practice more difficult, physically and mentally, than anything your players will face during a game.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
Not only is there more to life than basketball, there's a lot more to basketball than basketball.
PHIL JACKSON
Sacred Hoops
The best basketball announcer is one who allows you to close your eyes.
LARRY BIRD
Esquire, Sep. 2008
Don't let winning make you soft. Don't let losing make you quit.
LARRY BIRD
attributed, 1001 Motivational Messages and Quotations for Athletes and Coaches
Any American boy can be a basketball star if he grows up, up, up.
BILL VAUGHN
attributed, 20,000 Quips & Quotes
We have a great bunch of outside shooters. Unfortunately, all our games are played indoors.
WELDON DREW
The Michigan Journal, 1987
We have a practical rule in our game: when you stop the basketball, when it resides in your presence and you hold it for longer than two counts, you've destroyed our rhythm. When the ball is in your hands, you become the focal point. And when you become the focus, our system breaks down. It's that simple. Suddenly the defense can catch up, and the spacing is destroyed. So it's the unselfish players--players who are more interested in reading what's happening and keeping the flow going on the floor--who are the most valuable players that you have.
PHIL JACKSON
attributed, Team Work: Rediscovering the Essence of Basketball
I was always driven on the basketball court. I always wanted to win every game I played in, sometimes too much. When you're out on the playground just playing, and you're scraping, fighting, and do whatever you can to win the game. When it's all over with, you're friends, and I'd think, 'Why did I get like that?' That's the way I've always been.
LARRY BIRD
interview, The Undefeated, October 9, 2019
Most important ingredient to winning: no personal agendas. The commitment has to be 'us' driven not 'me' driven.
KEVIN EASTMAN
attributed, "501 Awesome Baketball Quotes", Basketball for Coaches
Basketball is like most other things: if your basics are off, nothing else is really going to help you improve.
GREG DUTCHER
Killing Calvinism
Basketball is a team game. But that doesn't mean all five players should take the same amount of shots.
DEAN SMITH
attributed, "501 Awesome Basketball Quotes", Basketball for Coaches
Don't complicate winning.
BOB KNIGHT
"33 Basketball Coaching Points from Bob Knight", The Coaching Toolbox
I only want to play basketball, and play it well and be happy about it. But I realize that with being famous comes a lot of demands.
YAO MING
interview, Sep. 3, 2002
The secret is to have eight great players and four others who will cheer like crazy.
JERRY TARKANIAN
attributed, Winning Words
In basketball -- as in life -- true joy comes from being fully present in each and every moment, not just when things are going your way.
PHIL JACKSON
Sacred Hoops
As I got better and better, there were a lot of double teams, and I drew a lot of defenders, so I had to learn how to pass the ball, and get it off to my teammates, because the more people that came to defend me, that means there are more openings for other players.
YAO MING
interview, Nov. 14, 2003